


I'll Make A Man Out Of You... Wait What?

by Fessst



Category: Mulan (1998)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Corporal Punishment, Discipline, F/M, Historical Inaccuracy, I'm not sorry, NSFW Art, Romance, Spanking, This is Disney
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:47:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26950891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fessst/pseuds/Fessst
Summary: Mulan's hygiene habits ought to have backfired at some point during her training at the camp. What if a simple wardrobe malfunction led to her gender reveal early on and by none other than her commanding officer? How would Li Shang deal with that newfound information?
Relationships: Fa Mulan | Hua Mulan/Li Shang (Disney)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 145





	I'll Make A Man Out Of You... Wait What?

**Author's Note:**

> Mulan was my favorite Disney cartoon growing up, so naturally, I'm going to butcher it with my kink.  
> Dishonor on me! Dishonor on my cow!
> 
> Beware of the **NSFW** -ish art!

" _Let's get down to business to defeat the Huns. Did they send me daughters when I asked for sons?"_

Shang looked her straight in the eyes as he said it and Mulan fought her face to remain impassive, while her pulse jumped with anxiety.

No, no, he didn't know. How could he? If he did, she would already be dead. It was just her mind playing tricks with her. She had been antsy ever since entering the camp and after her initial blooper, she tried hard to stay off the radar. Her pathetic attempts at acting manly only resulted in the general hostility of all the other recruits and it was a wonder that she hasn't been beaten up yet.

Mulan took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. She _had_ to get her act together, or she _will_ blow her cover.

That was easier said than done. She was not ready for the physical and mental strain the vigorous training put on her. Captain Li Shang was tough and uncompromising. And it didn't help that her heart fluttered most inappropriately whenever he was near her. He worked them hard every day from dusk till dawn, or till he saw improvement.

Mulan was not the only one failing, but she had a clear disadvantage with her feminine build. Not to mention, she never had to do such strenuous exercises - she was taught to be a good wife, not a good warrior. Unfortunately, she sucked at both. But keeping up with others was a matter of life and death, there was no room for self-pity.

Another driving force was Shang's look of cold disapproval directed at her whenever she failed to do something. Even worse was seeing the man's utter disappointment, if nobody managed to perform the task he had set for them. There was a hint of vulnerability as if the captain blamed their incompetence on himself and she felt an overwhelming need to fix it no matter what, just to see the man smile again. Not that he smiled often. But those few times she accomplished something and earned his praise were totally worth all her achy muscles.

Shang's excited face, when she managed to land a clean blow to him during sparring, was a highlight of her entire week. It was ridiculous that somebody would be this happy to get kicked in the face, and even more ridiculous that Mulan would be this happy about pleasing the man. Maybe she wouldn't have been such a bad wife after all... Although what man would ever be pleased if his wife crossdressed as a man, dishonored her family, and committed treason? Well, that was an easy one - no one. Certainly not such an honorable ambitious man like Shang.

As she got better, her confidence grew as well and her relationships with other soldiers improved. She would even dare say she made friends with a couple of them, though their unabashed behavior still kinda spooked her. She was sure none of them would be acting this way if they knew they were in the presence of a woman.

xxx

Mulan let the cool water of the lake engulf her naked body, happy not to be listening to Mushu's nagging for once. The dragon never got over the trauma of biting somebody's ass, but Mulan was not ready to give up washing herself because of that. She always waited until most of the men retreated to their tents to indulge in her daily swim. Just because she looked like a man, didn't mean she had to smell like one. And keeping up with hygiene in such conditions was quite a struggle.

At least her period was over now. Worrying that she will bleed through her clothes and somebody will notice was so stressful that her menstruation lasted only 3 days and was quite weak. Well, she wasn't about to thank her ancestors for _that,_ even though Mushu would undoubtedly claim it as his doing.

She glanced around to make sure it was safe to get out of the water and quickly towel-dried her hair before wrapping it around her torso. She always felt an adrenaline rush, whenever she sneaked around in the towel back to her tent. She didn't have big breasts, but she always had them properly bandaged under her armor and the towel revealed some of the roundness on her chest.

She ushered Khan to move alongside her, providing extra cover as she tiptoed back to the safety.

"Ping?"

Shang's voice sounded confused. Obviously, he recognized her horse and was probably wondering, why was she cowering behind it.

"Yes?" she peeped, before remembering to keep her voice lower and address him properly, "I mean. Yes, Captain?"

Shang narrowed his eyes. With her wet hair untied, she probably looked even more feminine than usual. The horse still obscured most of her body, but her face and naked shoulders were clearly visible to the man.

He shook his head as if trying to shoo away some thoughts and cast her a friendly smile. "How's the water?"

"Very pleasant, sir," she replied, adding a small smile of her own.

He just nodded and strolled past her to the lake, while Mulan followed his impressive masculine frame with her gaze. Big mistake! As she took a step back to be on her way, her heel hit a stray boulder and before she knew it she was crashing down with a rather unmanly shriek. The pain bloomed in both her elbows as she hit them hard against the stony surface in an attempt to soften her fall.

Shang quickly ran back to help her up, but then stopped dead in his tracks, his shocked gaze fixed intently between her legs. Mulan realized that her towel fell open in the worst way possible, revealing both her breasts and her lady parts for the whole world to see. And right now the world consisted of one completely flabbergasted man. She quickly grabbed the towel to cover herself but it was too late. He saw everything! And it would have been incredibly humiliating if the implications weren't so incredibly scary.

Shang finally lifted his eyes off her body and a myriad of emotions played on his face as if everything finally clicked together. However, one emotion dominated all others - anger. Shang looked absolutely furious. He turned on his heel and strolled angrily back to his tent.

Mulan could feel that her elbow was bleeding from the cut, but the pain didn't register as the panic took over. She jumped to her feet, quickly adjusted her towel, and ran after the captain.

"Sir! Please!" she cried, bursting inside the man's tent. She saw his muscles tense under the robe. Shang clenched his fists and took a couple of deep breaths before turning to face her. She had to give it to him, his furious eyes were fixed on her face and nothing gave away the discomfort he must have been feeling at her lack of proper attire.

"Do you have _any_ idea, what have you done?"

Mulan shifted from foot to foot, her face heating up under his glare, but now was not the time to blush, she had to stand her ground and make her case.

"Yes I do," she replied firmly. "I came to represent the Fa family in the fight against the Huns invasion."

"You've committed treason, you foolish girl!" he barked. "Do you know the penalty for your thoughtless stunt?!"

"I knew very well what I was risking coming here. I did it to save my father, who barely walks and is in no condition to fight after all the wars he fought to protect the people of China, and yet he was summoned anyway!"

"So you decided to dishonor your father, your family, and the entire Chinese army?!"

"I did what was right!" she retorted stubbornly.

"Do you realize the position you are putting me in?!"

She did. To be honest, she tried not to think about the looming threat of the death penalty much. She could die in the war just as well and focusing on gruesome prospects was not gonna help her cause. "No one has to know."

"Even if we forget about the law for a minute, do you honestly expect me to tolerate a woman within my ranks?! You may not care about your family honor, but I sure do about mine!"

"I am no worse than any of the other soldiers!"

"No, in fact, you are better. That's why you are the biggest disappointment."

Mulan's eyes filled with tears at his harsh tone. Shang looked at her with such animosity, as if she personally offended him with her gender. She couldn't find her voice to say anything to that.

"Leave," he said firmly, "I want you gone by the morning. Out of respect to Fa Zhou, I'll say that his _son_ was badly injured during training and sent home."

"But…"

"Defy me and I'll be forced to fulfill my duty and honor the law," he cut her off sharply, patting the handle of his sword.

Mulan's throat constricted with hurt. Feeling powerless she attempted to swallow the sob that ripped through anyway and ran off in tears.

***

That's how Mushu found her half an hour later, crying broken-heartedly in her tent.

"Hey, hey, hey. What happened?!" he asked, jumping on her shoulder and brushing the hair off her face.

"It's over," Mulan sobbed. "Shang knows…" she didn't bother explaining what she meant, since it was obvious. "He told me to go home, or he will execute me."

"Oh no…" the dragon exclaimed unhappily, "And that after all the trouble I went through to get you in the battle."

Mulan stopped sobbing just long enough to frown at him, "What do you mean?"

"Li Shang and his troops are being sent to the front."

"But … Oh noooo," she whined in frustration, "That would make me look like a _coward_ who ran away from the actual fight!"

Mushu scratched his head, casting her an apologetic look. "Yeah, it kind of does."

"No, I just can't go! My father would never forgive me if I brought him such dishonor."

"Mulan, but what about…"

"I don't care!" she thundered, her face changing with resolve, her tears long forgotten. "He already spared my life. There's hope, he will do it again."

Mushu didn't look happy with her, but she made up her mind. If Shang was being sent to the battle, then surely he wouldn't want to tamper with his men's morale by executing a fellow soldier in front of them. And if he did… well she would start worrying about that when they got there.

xxx

Shang clasped his hands to stifle the slight tremor he felt ever since he read the summons. It's not like he had never been to a battle before. No, despite being quite young, he had his fair share of field experience. Never as the one in charge though. Now he held responsibility for more than just himself. He will be the one giving orders, instead of simply following them. His decisions will affect the lives of the soldiers he spent so much time training. And it was as exciting as it was terrifying.

He cleared his throat to break the news to the soldiers who stood at attention in front of him.

"I'm sure that by now you have already heard the news, so I'll get straight to it. We have been called to the front. I want everyone to…" his voice broke off when his gaze fell on Ping - standing there among the recruits. He narrowed his eyes against the morning sun to make sure they were not deceiving him.

 _What the ...? How dare she defy me? How dare she just stand there as if nothing happened!_ And to think he felt bad for being so harsh with her, the guilt hindering his peaceful sleep.

"Chi-fu will organize the preparations. We are to leave tomorrow at dawn. Dismissed," he barked curtly, before setting his eyes on the girl. "Ping, follow me."

He turned on his heel marching back to his tent and not waiting to see if she was following him. She wouldn't dare to publicly disobey a direct order.

"Sir?" Ping asked, entering behind him.

Shang barely contained his fury as he turned to face her, "Do you have a death wish?! Wasn't I clear enough yesterday? How dare you disobey me?" Whatever tender feelings he had towards her yesterday when she ran away in tears were gone today when he was faced with her defiance.

"I had no choice. It would look like I ran away from the battle." She didn't look scared or apologetic as she said it, her face a firm mask of determination, making Shang's blood boil.

"I don't _care_ what it would look like!" he snapped. "You can't stay!"

"I'm not going anywhere," she replied calmly, her composure further igniting his outrage.

"The battlefield is no place for a girl. It's blood, gore, and death. You can't…"

"I'm as ready as anyone else."

"Except for a little fact that you should be court-martialed and sentenced to death!" he growled.

"If that's your decision, I'll accept my fate."

Shang threw his hands in the air in frustration. He knew he didn't have the heart to execute her, and she refused to listen to reason. "Stubborn!" he barked. "You ought to be taken over the knee and spanked like the silly little girl you are!"

He saw a hint of blush on her cheeks before it quickly disappeared behind the defiant mask. "Do what you must, but I'm not leaving."

His anger flared at her audacity. Before he had the chance to fully contemplate his actions, he sunk to his knees, caught the girl's wrist, and threw her over his lap, landing several hard slaps on her upturned bottom. Ping (or whatever her real name was) clearly didn't expect him to follow through with his threat. She let out a surprised yelp, then quickly muzzled her mouth with her hands.

"If you can't follow orders then you are not a soldier but a spoiled brat, and therefore you will be dealt with as such," he growled, giving her a couple more smacks before tugging down her trousers, prompting an embarrassed whimper from her.

His hand froze in the air as the inappropriateness of the situation finally fully registered. He stared at the plump butt cheeks, soft and milky white with a smidgen of pink color from the swats he already administered, the shapely thighs and between them… Let's just say that Ping was no girl, Ping was a grown woman. A very pretty, very enticing woman, very conveniently positioned over his groin.

Shang felt his cheeks heat up in a blush, which was a marvel on its own because all the blood rushed to his lower regions.

_Don't get hard! Oh God, don't get hard now! What the hell am I doing?_

Shang was not a virgin, he had his fair share of experience with women, though never under such circumstances. His self-control was supposed to be better than that and yet, he felt like an inexperienced teenager, getting all flustered at the sight of female private parts.

He realized that the longer he hesitated the more his disciplinary action started to look like a sexual assault. So he exhaled and brought his hand down with a sharp slapping sound. The tearful whimper it produced helped to get him back in the correct mindset because he definitely didn't enjoy hurting women. Especially the women he cared about.

Shang cared about all men under his command. But he took special pride in Ping, as someone who'd undergone the biggest transformation under Shang's leadership from a clumsy "boy" into a capable warrior. The fact that the boy was not a boy didn't take anything from that achievement. If anything, it was even more impressive and demanded respect.

But that didn't change anything about his principles. Women did not belong on the battlefield. They belonged home to be treasured and protected by men. Shang already came to terms with the fact that not all of his recruits will survive this venture. As much as it pained him, he knew that death was an inherent part of the war. But when applied to Ping, knowing that she was female, the idea made his stomach twist with dread. A sore butt was a small price to pay for staying alive.

Reassured in his resolve to spank the stubbornness out of Ping, he focused on delivering the much-needed discipline.

***

Mulan was sure that if her face grew any hotter it would catch on fire. The only thing rivaling in the heat was her poor posterior, which was under a flurry of hard relentless swats. That in itself was mortifying enough but the fact that the punishment was carried out by none other than the man towards whom Mulan was harboring secret romantic feelings, made it a hundred times worse.

The sound of a palm striking bare flesh was resonating in the tent and Mulan prayed that all the recruits were too busy with preparations and packing to overhear her childish discipline. She hid her face behind her hands and gritted her teeth to stifle the yelps that bubbled in her throat. This hurt!

Mulan was no stranger to pain. Bruises and sore muscles were a constant companion during the weeks of training. She got used to them. Almost to the point of not noticing the occasional ache. But it was nothing compared to the burning sting that Shang was currently applying to her bottom. Sharp. Inescapable. Building. Getting _worse_. And so SO embarrassing!

Mulan's father has never physically disciplined her growing up. Not that she was a perfectly behaved child. It's just that he was always fond of her spiritedness and therefore never scolded her too harshly. Her mother was a bit more strict, but other than an occasional gentle "wake-up" smack, didn't punish her either. So this was a very new experience for her.

On one hand, if Shang was spanking her, then he was probably not going to execute her, which was certainly a relief. But on the other hand… _damn, this hurt!_ Not as much as a public whipping (or decapitation) but surprisingly more than one would expect from a punishment used mainly to correct children. And she didn't want to be perceived as a child. Not by Shang.

Damn. He probably lost any respect he might have had for her. And to add insult to injury, her composure started to slip away, her vision blurring.

"Please," she whimpered, her voice thick with unshed tears.

The smacks came to an abrupt halt. She heard Shang exhale but didn't dare to turn her head to check his expression, too afraid to find disapproval, disappointment, or disgust there.

"Please don't make me leave," she implored. "I'll do anything. Obey every order. Volunteer for unpopular work. Just don't make me go." Her begging felt pathetic to her own ears but given her compromising position of lying bare-assed over her captain's lap, she couldn't fall much lower anyway.

Her pleading was met with another deep sigh. Then her pants were pulled up and Mulan let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She sat back on her heels unsure what to do next and too embarrassed to take initiative. Two strong hands grasped her by the arms and she meekly let herself be pulled up.

She stood in front of Shang, staring intently at the smudge on her shoe. She couldn't bring herself to look at him, but he took that decision away from her by lifting her chin gently and brushing away a stray tear from her cheek, the tender gesture in sharp contrast with the pain the same hand was inflicting mere seconds ago.

"Just what am I gonna do with you?" he murmured softly, his gaze warm and affectionate.

Mulan flushed, her heart beating hard in her chest. He never looked at her this way before. She didn't know how to act. She was supposed to be mad at him. So why wasn't she? Shang was too close. If he wanted he could even lean forward and… (And, oh God, she would totally let him.)

But he didn't.

His hand fell back to his side, while the other patted her shoulder awkwardly. Mulan quickly averted her gaze, afraid to let on the bitter disappointment brought about by his lack of action.

The silence weighed heavily between them till Mulan just couldn't take it any longer. "Alright, I'll-"

"Stay."

Her eyes snapped to his, hoping she didn't misunderstand. "Sir?"

Shang let out a frustrated breath and rubbed his neck, visibly uncomfortable. "I'm probably going to regret it, but I'll keep your secret."

"Oh Captain, I'll-"

Shang raised his palm to shush her excited ramble. "I expect you to stay back or by my side at _all_ times. You are not to engage in any action unless your life is in danger. You will be responsible for our provisions, so no one will question it. My orders will be obeyed immediately and to the letter. Is it understood?"

His stern tone did nothing to taper her joy. She fought an urge to hug him, but couldn't do anything about the broad grin taking over her face.

"Yes, sir," she nodded giddily.

"Alright. You are dismissed."

The Captain was back to being full formal with her and she decided not to tempt her fate by lingering, lest he thought she didn't take his lecture to heart and was already disobeying his order.

xxx

Shang had been subtly listening in to the discussion about "a girl worth fighting for" for a while now. He saw Ping constantly trying to avoid being included only for others to force her participation all the more. The poor girl finally attempted to express what in her head she surmised as desirable, but others quickly dismissed her ideals of being smart and outspoken.

Shang couldn't help a fond smile. He would have probably agreed with the rest that those were hardly the most tempting qualities on a woman, however, when applied to this woman, in particular, he could definitely see the appeal.

He didn't feel the need to intervene and kill the lively discussion until he saw Ping being groped in a hug by the other men. His protective wires flaring all at once, he barked at the men to stop with shenanigans and to restore order. It earned him a couple glares, but no one dared to voice their frustrations.

Satisfied with the newfound peace he went to check on the girl walking quietly in the back of the formation.

"How are you feeling, soldier?" he asked, keeping his voice low but formal. Ping raised her eyes at him in confusion, so he elaborated, "Physically."

Shang didn't think he was cruel in his chastisement. Even though his palm was prickling for a while after she left his tent, it was nothing even remotely close to the whipping he had delivered last year to the soldier unlucky enough to be caught disobeying his orders. Still, he had never disciplined a woman before and he needed to be reassured now more than ever that his actions didn't leave a lasting wound.

"Perfectly capable of fulfilling my duty to the people of China, sir."

That was not the answer he was looking for. He cleared his throat, wondering how to phrase the question better. "And… _not_ physically?"

Her eyes dropped and a cute blush crept on her cheeks.

"Embarrassed," she muttered dejectedly.

Was she referring to the ideal woman discussion or to their encounter yesterday? Probably the latter. Shang understood her embarrassment. In all likelihood, she had never been with a man before and he already managed to see her not once but _twice_ without clothes. And the second time he even went as far as to remove them himself! Something he felt rather apprehensive about post factum as well. It wouldn't have been that big of a deal if he were to marry her later though. _Whoa! Hold your horses, Li Shang!_

He shook his head at the sudden turn his thoughts had taken. "What's your name?" he asked to change the topic.

"Mulan."

"That's a beautiful name."

The unexpected compliment prompted a wary glance and Shang felt his face heating up and his heart beating faster.

_Don't act like a teenager now!_

In a spur of a moment, he plucked a flower from the nearby tree and thrust it in her hand. Her eyes wide with surprise stared back at him, bringing a nervous fluttering feeling to his stomach and further unnerving him. Shang cleared his throat, saluted her as if she was a general, and hastily retreated towards Chifu asking to confirm their position and estimated arrival to the destination.

 _Way to make a fool of yourself, Captain!_ he berated himself, feeling stupid. But then when he dared a subtle peek back at the girl, the beautiful smile on her face as she looked at the flower in her palm made it actually very much worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> The art is by the wonderful Kitsuiichan. Check her out!


End file.
